The core findings of the report show a significant gap between the top 25% of enterprises, referred to as the “Masters of the Modern Software Factory,” and everyone else across a range of measures including revenue, profit, executive leadership, risk-taking and adoption of modern software tools.

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These ‘Masters’ are more readily embracing the key principles of agility, automation, insights and security, the report claims, directly correlating with a 70 percent higher profit growth and 50 percent higher revenue growth compared to the mainstream.

“There’s a clear indication that those organizations that adopt modern software development practices such as embracing agile, increasing automation wherever possible, using machine learning and analytics to generate insights, and integrating security into the development process do a better job of driving growth,” said Otto Berkes, executive vice president and chief technology officer, CA Technologies.

CA promotes this more forward-thinking approach to development as the “Modern Software Factory.” The ‘Masters’ are experts in utilizing this approach, the survey found.

“If you don’t have a modern approach to software, along with the factory needed to deliver on your vision, you will be left behind in a world where the masters are the winners,” Berkes said.

Businesses must transition towards embracing this style to keep up, CA asserts. And for many, the roadblocks they’ll face won’t be technical or skills-based, but organizational.